Here’s everything about the meaning of Luffy’s bracelet: At first, the bracelet just seems to be a glass armlet that Luffy thinks is cool.
We later find that it is a map to the treasure of Captain John, one of the most famous treasures in the world.
Beyond that, Luffy is able to trade the bracelet to Buggy the Clown in exchange for help finding his brother, Ace. So if you are an anime fan and want to know what Luffy’s bracelet is, then this article is for you. Keep reading!
Who Is Luffy?
C’mon. You know who Luffy is, right? He’s the main protagonist of the most popular manga series of all time.
His anime is pretty popular too. Everyone has heard of him by now right?
Well, just in case you haven’t joined the Japanese sensation that is One Piece, I’ll take a minute to explain.
Be warned, there are spoilers throughout this article. The bracelet in question is a major plot point in one part of the story.
I can’t explain it without spoiling that part of the story. Back to Luffy now. Luffy lives in a world where most of the world consists of islands.
In this highly aquatic world, everything is ruled by naval power.
There is a single world government with a massive and powerful navy, but it is challenged for global dominance by the rise of lots and lots of pirates.
At the start of the One Piece series, a man named Gol D. Roger is the king of the pirates.
He is captured, and at his execution (which is broadcast live to the entire world), he says that he hid his vast pirate fortune.
He calls that fortune the One Piece, and he says that whoever can find it will be the next king of the pirates.
This inspires many to try their hand at piracy, and the age of pirates begins. Luffy is born near that same time, so he grows up during the age of pirates.
As soon as he is old enough, he sets sail to explore the world, put together his own crew, and become the pirate king.
That’s the gist of who Luffy is, and there’s a lot more to it.
After all, the One Piece manga has been releasing new issues for more than 25 years now, so it’s a very developed story.
What you really need to know to understand the bracelet is who Luffy is as a character.
We covered the backstory, but a little breakdown of his philosophy will help.
How Does Luffy Think?
It might be weird to talk about Luffy and philosophy in the same sentence, but as a character, he follows a rather strict moral code.
He just wants to be free, and he’ll fight to the death for the sake of freedom—for himself or his friends.
Behind that clear principle, Luffy doesn’t value much else (except good food).
Luffy will walk away from treasure and fame without batting an eye.
He doesn’t care about such things.
He just wants to be able to eat until he is full and go on fun adventures with his friends.
That’s really all there is to him, and as I get into the storyline centered around the bracelet, this little piece of information will prove important.
What Bracelet Are We Talking About?
We’ll end up talking about Luffy more as we go, but it’s important to discuss the bracelet itself.
As I said, One Piece is a long story with a lot of volumes.
There are more than a few bracelets along the way.
But, there’s one bracelet in particular that makes sense for this discussion.
After the Thriller Bark Arc (I’ll explain that too), Luffy finds a bracelet that he likes.
He wears it on his left arm above the elbow.
It is made of glass, and we see Luffy wearing it nonstop for quite a while in the series.
Eventually, Luffy parts ways with the bracelet, and we never see it again.
Now that we’ve established what bracelet is being discussed, I can really delve into the story.
The Story of the Bracelet
This whole thing really begins on Thriller Bark.
That is the name of the floating island that serves as the base and ship for Gekko Moria.
When we meet Moria, he is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, putting him in rather elite company.
There aren’t that many people in the world who could defeat a Warlord in one-on-one combat.
Moria’s not the strongest character in the world, but he’s kind of a big deal.
An entire saga unfolds on Thriller Bark, and ultimately, Luffy and his crew take on Moria and his crew in a series of fights.
Luffy and his people ultimately prove victorious.
When they sail away from Thriller Bark, they find a bunch of treasure on their ship, the Thousand Sunny.
Everyone starts picking through the piles of treasure, but Nami won’t let anyone take anything that is valuable.
Luffy, being Luffy, finds an armband that he really likes.
He grabs it and puts it on, and because it doesn’t have any valuable jewels, Nami is fine with it.
He proceeds to wear the armband everywhere he goes.
Many events unfold in the story while Luffy is wearing the armlet.
Eventually, he winds up at Impel Down.
This is the infamous prison where the world government houses the most dangerous criminals in the world.
Luffy broke into Impel Down to try to find his brother, Ace, who was captured by the marines and taken there.
By the time Luffy arrives at the prison, Ace is no longer there, but it takes Luffy more than a little while to learn that.
Luffy’s time in Impel Down is filled with many adventures of its own, and somewhere along the way, he runs into Buggy the Clown.
Buggy seems to know how to lead Luffy out of the prison to go find Ace, but he won’t do it for free.
Buggy wants the armlet.
Luffy, being Luffy, is happy to part with the armlet if it means that Buggy will help him find his brother.
It’s a trade, and eventually, Buggy is part of a group that helps Luffy escape the prison and go to Marinford, where Ace is actually being held.
What Does Luffy’s Bracelet Mean? (2 Events)
It’s a complicated tale that gets us this far, but we have finally covered enough backstory to get to the actual meaning of the bracelet.
When Luffy first finds it and wears it, he has no idea that it holds significance.
He just likes the way it looks.
During his adventures, Luffy learns that the armlet is actually a secret treasure map.
It holds the location to the treasure of Captain John.
This treasure is not quite as famous as the One Piece, but it’s a pretty famous treasure in its own right.
Actually, this merits its own section.
#1 Captain John and His Treasure
Captain John is no small fry in the world of One Piece.
He was actually a significant member of the Rocks Pirates.
Before Gol D. Roger became the king of the pirates, there were three crews that were all competing to be the strongest and find the fabled island (that was eventually named Laugh Tale).
You had the Roger Pirates (named after Gol), the Whitebeard Pirates (named after their captain, Whitebeard), and the Rocks pirates (also named after their captain, Rocks).
Of these crews, the strongest was actually the Rocks Pirates.
They had more than a few absolute legends among their ranks, and two members of the crew eventually became Emperors of the Sea.
In fact, Kadio, who was pretty young while a member of the Rocks crew, ended up being dubbed the strongest creature in the world, and he was not the strongest member of the Rocks crew.
Roger ultimately teamed up with the hero of the marines, Monkey D. Garp, and together, they completely defeated Rocks.
After that battle, the Rocks crew disbanded.
This brings us back to John.
When the Rocks pirates were no more John formed his own crew (as did several other Rocks members).
As a captain, John amassed a famous pile of treasure.
In fact, it was the most famous treasure in the world, until it was eclipsed by the story of the One Piece itself.
John was extremely greedy, so he hid his treasure even from his own crew.
When he died, the location of the treasure was lost to the world.
Only legends of a bracelet that could show the way remained.
#2 Buggy the Clown’s Quest
What’s more interesting is that Buggy the Clown has made it his goal to find the treasure of Captain John for some time.
When he sees the armlet, he immediately knows what it is, and he tries to trick Luffy into giving it up.
Little did Buggy know, Luffy had already learned that the bracelet was a map.
He simply never cared about it being a map.
So, when Buggy wants the bracelet as payment for guiding Luffy, Luffy accepts the deal with any hesitation.
After they part ways, Buggy supposedly still has the bracelet.
We never see it again, and we never learn whether or not Buggy successfully tracks down the mysterious treasure.
